Disney Genie+, the “paid FastPass” offering that Disney introduced last month at Walt Disney World, is poised to make a substantial impact on the Disney Parks bottom line in 2022. In an earlier investor call, Disney CEO Bob Chapek was extremely bullish on the new service, underlining just how significant of a product it is.
When talking about profit margins, Chapek reiterated how important Disney Genie+ is to the parks:
I’m not sure if everyone appropriates the gravity the Genie+ success. One third of the guests at Walt Disney World are buying the Genie+ upgrade. That’s per guest, per day $15. That’s a marginal increase in per cap and margin.
In order to understand the true impact of Disney Genie+, let’s take a stab at some math.
In 2019, Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) released its attendance estimates for theme parks around the world. While Disney does not release attendance figures publically, TEA is considered the industry leader in this respect. In the report, it was estimated that Walt Disney World welcomed 58.8 million guests. The Disneyland Resort welcomed 28.5 million guests.
In 2020, attendance was extremely poor due to COVID-19 shutdowns of both resorts. The 2020 report estimated that Walt Disney World had 18.8 million visitors and that Disneyland had 5.6 million guests.
While we probably won’t see 2022 attendance figures reach what we saw in 2019, we’ll use 70% of the 2019 figures to estimate 2022 attendance at Walt Disney World to hit 41 million and Disneyland will come in around 20 million.
If those figures pan out, we can use Chapek’s earlier statement to estimate $184 million in Genie+ revenue for Walt Disney World and $120 million in revenue for the Disneyland Resort at the higher $20 price. It’s worth noting that Disney expects an even higher percentage of Disneyland guests to purchase Disney Genie+, so we could see the Disneyland figure go even higher. It’s also worth noting that Walt Disney World is currently priced at $5 cheaper than Disneyland. It’s unclear when or if the prices might match up.
In total, Disney Genie+ could generate upwards of $300 million in revenue for The Walt Disney Company. This figure is not even taking the Individual Lightning Lane purchases into account. Disney did not offer any indications of how that product was faring, but we imagine that sales are strong for Rise of the Resistance at the very least.
Now, it’s important to put the math above into perspective. In 2019, the Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products division pulled in $26.23 billion in revenue. In 2020, that number dropped to $17 billion, and in 2021 revenues were at $16.5 billion. Even in a pandemic, a $300 million figure is “small” for the segment, but when you consider that the product previously didn’t exist, Genie+ is off to a strong start.
When considering the potential that Disney Genie+ represents for the Disney Parks division of the company, it’s no wonder that Chapek and other executives are bullish on the offering.
For more on Disney Genie, Disney Genie+, and Individual Lightning Lane attraction selections, check out our articles below!
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